Zilch. Nada. Bupkis. Yes, I'm taking about Zero (0), a number that seems so essential to our system of numbers, and yet it hasn't always enjoyed such a privileged place. Far from it.

In this short animation, Britain's venerable Royal Institution traces the history of zero, a number that emerged in seventh century India, before making its way to China and Islamic countries, and finally penetrating Western cultures in the 13th century. Only later did it become the cornerstone of calculus and the language of computing.

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Comments (1)

Zero is discovered but it is yet to be evaluated! What its magnitude is, ‘nothing’. But then it is not measurable! If instruments can not detect it, then how to evaluate it. It can then become variable in magnitude, depending on the sensitivity of the instrument! Thus, it can not be a reference point like other numbers! Uncertainties in fact rule our material world and we have no answer to understand completely anything we may decide to investigate! Ultimate truth does not exist and we talk only of relative truths!

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Open Culture editor Dan Colman scours the web for the best educational media. He finds the free courses and audio books you need, the language lessons & movies you want, and plenty of enlightenment in between.